JD:
Without defending the practice, would you want to write a guy for five or ten over who may be the one you need to pull your backside out of the fire next week?
Where this goes sour is when it's not just speed or a similar infraction, but is a DUI or something like that.
Funny thing, and this is IMHO, but it may be the trial lawyers.... Time was when you found a citized DUI, you locked up his car and drove him home. Or if you caught a friend's kid, you cleaned him up and got him home....
Today, that car you parked gets a scratch (Lord help you if you drive it for him), or the kid's hair gets frizzy, and you're in the courts for a year.... So you tow the car and take the citizen (or the kid) to the greybar, and keep another set of lawyers off welfare.... But if it's another LEO, you may be willing to take the chance.
Off-duty LEO's are supposed to obey traffic laws. On-Duty, there are some exceptions. Being human, they screw up sometimes. Other LEO's - particularly from their own or neighboring departments - are going to cut them a lot more slack.
As I've said before, as a rent-a-cop, I don't give tickets, I get 'em. But this still doesn't bother me. I've been out there.... I don't want to hear about LEO's stealing things (happened around here) and other forms of corruption, but getting stopped usually does the "education" thing.
Some years ago the OH Turnpike was cursed by a fluke in the new speed limits - wherever it crossed through a city the speed limit had to be 55. Otherwise, it was 65. Signs were posted, but were kind of "out of nowhere", and easy to miss. OSP, being truly
, enforced the lower limit. One afternoon they caught a buddy of mine who was ex-MCSO and ex-DEA, and who'd missed the sign. They took him into some burg's SO or PD to post bond (that's not done anymore if you're an OH resident) and everybody in the building razzed him for getting caught. Then they razzed the OSP guys for bringing him in....
(He eventually paid the fine, btw. You have to hold his wife and children as hostages to get a Trooper to pull a ticket. That really is as it should be.)
(Note to OSP.... You're doing a difficult job. I may kid about it, but I still appreciate it.)
Weasel: I see that you've replied while I was typing this. I agree 100% If you happen to run into Bruce Bugg (he was working HazMat & Motor Vehicle enforcement at the office near ATL last time I heard from him) tell him I said hi. (Might be wise to be armed and prepared to run, but that's another story.)
Regards,